The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1887-03-24
They Sustain Mr.. Barnes.

They Sustain MIR. Barnes.
To the Editor of The Times:
SIR: At a meeting of the mem.
bers of the Congregational church
Of this city called Immediately after
the close of the evening service on
Sunday evening, March 20, 1887,
by one of its members, to obtain the
sentiment and expression of the
church as a body on the position as
sumed by our pastor on the temper
ance question in his discourses of
Sunday evening March 18th and Sun
day evening March Goth, it was
unanimously voted by the 4S men,
bers present that we cordially and
heartily stand by our pastor in the
position taken by him on this great
question in these two discourses.
And further, a committee Of three
was appointed by vote Of the men,
bers present to draft resolutions for
the church, bearing on the temper.
ance question and a cowardly and
unwarranted attack made on our
pastor in an editorial article in the
Dakota Globe, published in this city
on March 10th, 1887, and this COM
mittee so appointed speak for the
church as follows:
RESOLVED, That we, the Congre-
gational church of Wahpeton, d. T.,
believe the question of temperance
to be one of the most important of
Iall the questions that interest US to-
day. We believe in agitating and
discussing this subject from the
pulpit, the platform and by the
4press. We believe that the safety of
bur government, our city and our
9mes can only be secured and made
! ermanent by right thinking and
etiOn on this question. We believe
The time has come in our little city
|Efkhen every person should take Il
Estsnd on this vital question. We
believe it high time for the people
of this city who have its welfare at
heart to come together and work
unitedly as one man to rid it of the
filth, the iniquity and the abomina.
tions that stalk abroad here as a re-
suit, almost wholly, of the traffic
and trade in intoxicating drinks.
RESOLVED, That we heartily and
gladly as a church put ourselves on
record as endorsing the position
taken by our pastor, Rev. G. b.
Barnes, on this question. That we
cordially endorse the strong and ad-
vanced position taken on this ques-
tion in the union temperance meet.
ings recently held in this city by the
Rev. j. NJ. Van Every and Rev. C.
w. Woodruff, and we cannot but be-
lieve, hope and pray that such senti-
ments and instructions as we have
been permitted to receive from
these men appointed Of God as lead
ers for his children, will result in
blessing and benefit to us as a peo-
pie.
RESOLVED, That we as a church
do put ourselves on record as un-
qualiiiedly condemning the letter and
spirit of the wholly unjust, unwar-
ranted, ungentlemanIy, false and un-
christianlike attack made on our
pastor 10y the editor of the Dakota
Globe in his issue of March 16, 1887.
That we believe such attacks are a
direct injury to the cause of Christ
and of temperance. That no man
has Il right to attempt to injure an
others reputation by means of the
public press in any such manner ;
that such insinuations are wholly
beneath the character and practice
Of a gentleman, and that we have q
right to demand of II. W. Troy, oc-
cupying the position he does in this
community, the manifestation of a
better spirit and the publication in
his paper Of matter of a higher and
better moral tone.
The First Congregational Church,
BY it's Committee,
G. n. WoOD,
j. Il. BUXTON.
F. II. BUTLER.
Wahneton n,k March % 1897